LAGOS: Nigeria's Islamist militant group Boko Haram is allegedly intimidating a Nigerian journalist, who told the international press advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that he fears for his life. Ahmad Salkida, an independent journalist, told CPJ that he noticed a white 4X4 Hilux with a Lagos state registration number following him on Thursday for several hours, including to his house in Abuja, the Nigerian capital. He said he has also received phone threats from anonymous callers in the past few days that he believes are coming from government security agents in connection to his contacts with Boko Haram. “They said I am a Boko Haram member, that me and them are not supposed to exist. That they know where I live and they will visit me,” Salkida told CPJ. A Boko Haram spokesman told Bikyamasr.com that “the group monitors all activities in our area and journalists are of importance,” but he would not state specifically if there was a threat to Salkida's life. Last week, various media reported that the Nigerian government and Boko Haram militants have been engaged in secret, mediated negotiations. Since that news was reported, Salkida told CPJ, he has received several threatening calls from concealed numbers accusing him of being the instigator of the talks. “They said that as far as they are concerned, they will never allow anything like negotiation. They said they have it on authority that I am the link to the negotiation process. That I should desist; otherwise they'll descend on me,” Salkida told CPJ. Salkida has refuted the accusations on his blog. “We are concerned about the safety of Ahmad Salkida,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “Nigerian authorities must take these threats seriously and we hold the government responsible for Salkida's well-being.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Y9RlH Tags: Boko Haram, Journalist, Nigeria, Threats Section: Latest News, Media, Nigeria, West Africa
